Stefano Boeri's Vertical Forest Under Construction in Milan

It looks like one of those jazzy renderings we show of vertical farm fantasies, but this one is real and under construction. It is Stefano Boeri's Bosco Verticale, or Vertical Forest, being built in Milan.

I have often touted the virtues of planting trees in front of houses; Boeri does it vertically and gets much the same results, including shade in summer, penetrating sunlight in winter, protection from wind, cleaning the air, producing oxygen and reducing noise pollution.

I do hope that in the end the trees get as big and glorious as the renderings show, the planters in this section look awfully small in comparison to the size of the trees. More at Stefano Boeri Architetti

In the Financial Times, Christopher Woodward calls Bosco Verticale "The most exciting new tower in the world." He reminds us that my personal favourite Edouard François built the original Flower Tower in Paris, slideshow here.